English actress Elizabeth Taylor dies at age 79

March 24, 2011

, an English born U.S. actress, died on Wednesday at the age of 79, in the, in Los Angeles, California, where she was admitted six weeks ago. The cause of death was announced as a heart ailment that she had suffered for years.

Taylor made her film debut in 1941 at, and won two , for "Butterfield 8" (1960), and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966). Widely known for her personality, described as "sexy, glamorous, untimely, and fragile," the actress was always surrounded by her fans and the media. As a child actress, she was known for having two sets of eyelashes because of a genetic mutation, distinguishing her face from other actresses.

Recently, Taylor had been using an account on Twitter to keep herself in touch with her fans and friends. "I like the connection with fans and people who have been supportive of me, [...] [a]nd I love the idea of real feedback and a two-way street, which is very, very modern. But sometimes I think we know too much about our idols and that spoils the dream," Taylor said in a 2011 interview for Harper's Bazaar.

Taylor had to overcome an addiction to alcohol and drugs in the 80s through admissions to the Betty Ford Clinic in California, and had been for a number of days admitted to a Los Angeles hospital for heart failure.

Taylor is survived by four children, who reported that Taylor's last wish for her fans was that "they shouldn't be sending flowers for her, that money should be sent to charitable works, or otherwise to her 'Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation,'" in order to continue with her struggle in favour of patients with the disease.